Spring Break 2016 (Post 2 of 2)

On Tuesday of Spring Break Week we made a day trip over to Copan, Honduras.  Our first stop was the Macaw Mountain Bird Park.

Our favorite thing about visiting there has always been getting to hold the birds at the end of the tour. 

We had lunch at Jim's Pizza.

Sara Madalin and Malinda shopping for souvenirs in Copan, Honduras

We made a stop by Cafe Welchez for coffee before making the drive back to Guatemala.

That evening I cooked supper and then we went out for ice cream at the mall.

Sara Madalin, Reagan, Malinda, Cruz, and Ben at Sarita's in Chiquimula

 the kids having fun at the mall

On Wednesday we spent the day in Esquipulas.  We visited Parque Chatun to do a zipline tour.

our family at Parque Chatun in Esquipulas, Guatemala

ready for the zipline

They let the kids go also.  Cruz and Sara Madalin went with a guide and Ben rode with David. 

fun times!

We ate lunch at Pollo Campero and visited the Basilica before driving back to Chiquimula.

That night we gave the kids a surprise birthday party.  They all have upcoming birthdays so Malinda brought supplies to do a party for them.  She chose a Star Wars theme.  We had watched the movie earlier in the week so Cruz and Ben would be familiar with it.  They were very surprised when they walked into the house and saw the decorations and party stuff.  

An early birthday party for the kids.  Ben's birthday is next week and Sara Madalin and Cruz have birthdays in May.

Reagan also has a birthday coming up next week so we celebrated him too. 

A group picture from our fun night.  I just love, love, love this photo of my friend Malinda.  It makes me laugh out loud.  It is my favorite of the whole week!  ha

On Thursday we headed back into Guatemala City to begin their trip back home.  We took a group photo at the hotel before getting on the road that morning.

They say laughter does the heart good and I can say one thing for certain- we laughed a lot that week!

On our drive into Guatemala City we stopped at El Rancho for one last ice cream treat together.

That afternoon we visited the market for more souvenirs and then went out for supper at IHOP.  Our mission house was booked so we stayed the night close by at the Guatemala Baptist Seminary.  We put the kids down for bed and then sat outside and talked late into the night.

Here we are having breakfast at Nais on Friday morning before we drove them to the airport. I was pretty sad by this point because I was not ready for them to leave.

As we were loading up we could hear the seminary music students practicing in their classroom.  It was a beautiful sound so we all walked over and sat in to listen.  It blessed our hearts to see and hear them!

We do serve a great God and I am thankful for faithful friends like Reagan and Malinda that He put in our lives some 20+ years ago.  We have had some fun times together over the years and this week was a great reminder of just how precious they are to us.  We love them and are counting down the time until we can all hang out together again.